Apparatus for sealing containers



July 2l, 1931. E. c ANGELL APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERS Original Filed March 20' 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet l July 21, 1931. E. c. ANGELI.

APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERS original Filed March 2o 1926 s sheets-sheet 2 mw.. N amv xk Nm.

July 2l, 19314. E. c. ANGl-:LL

APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERS Original Filed March 20' 1925 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BIZ,

51mm to z retreated July 21, 1931v 1,815,284

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD C.' ANGELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR SEALING CONTAINERS Application filed March 20, 1926, Serial No. 96,128. Renewed January 26, 1929.

This invention relates -to apparatus that As shown in the drawings my invention will automatically fill containers as fed along comprises a base or table 1 mounted on suita conveyer, with liquid or other material, and able legs 2. At one end of the apparatus is which containers as advanced will have the located a filling tank 3, on standards 4, 5. open top closed and sealed by suitable means, This' is of elongated form and at the front is 55 such as an applied securin T member. provided with a series of extension chambers One of the objects of the invention is to 6, twelve of which are shown arranged in a provide improved means for sealing a conline, see Figs. 1-3. Each of these chambers tainer that is made of flexible materlal, such is provided with a suitable liquid delivering as paper, wherein the circular open mouth or means operated from a main driving shaft 60 top is pressed together from opposite sides, t0 each deliver the the same predetermined as by jaws, and thus it is collapsed, and the quantity of liquid from the tank 3, that may sealing lips thus formed, are secured by suitbe milk 0r any desired material. able means. These twelve filling devices are designed to A further object of the invention is to procooperate with twelve containers carried by 65 vide means for feeding securing members, an endless belt or chain 27, extending the such as angular strips of metal, across onto length of the machine and carried around the closed lips of the collapsed container, and sprockets 28 and 29. The latter is advanced thereupon pressing together the sides of the intermittently whereby to move the container angle strip to securely close and hold the holders 30 on the chain a unit distance. The 70 meeting lips of the container, holders 30, see Fig. 12, carriedl by the chain Another object of the invention is to pro- 27, are provided with angular clips 31 and vide in addition to the collapsing and strip 32, the latter each having a slot at its angular securing means, means for further securing COImeetlOn With the base, will be slightly the angle strip in position. yielding, and this upward bend will engage 75 In the accompanying drawings showing Wlth the bead on the bottom of the container. embodiments 0f my invention At the rear stops 33 may be provided, a con- Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section. tamer belng slid across the holders from the Fig, 2 is a from; elevation, fr ont until it strikes these stops by which it Fig. 3 is an end view, partly in section will be properly positioned on the holder. 80

Fig. 4 is a cross section enlarged indicated The rear Sprocket 29 is mounted on a cross on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. shaft 34, see Fig. l, actuated by a ratchet Fig. 5 is a partial view enlarged showing Wheel 35 thereon engaged by a pawl 36. The the collapsing means. latter 1s carrled by an arm 37 rocked from Fig 6 is a detail of the latter, a cam 38 on a cross shaft 39. This shaft is 85 Fig, 7 Shows one of the filling devices, turned by a gear 40 thereon engaging a gear Fig. 8 shows enlarged part of the closure 41 OD the 11121111 Shaft. Aspring bolt 42 slides means, 1n a bracket 43 and operated by a cam 44 on Fig. 9 is a detail of the strip feeding means. Shaft 39- Ths bolt engages a notched disk Fig. 10 shows the advanced closure means. 4:5 011 the CIOSS shaft 34 after the pawl 36 90 Fig, 11 Shows the upper part 0f e Sealed. has advanced this shaft the proper distance,

container, so that the sprocket 29 will advance the con- Fig, 12 Shows one 0f the blocks 0n the conveyer chain the distance of one holder, and veyer that receives the container. Serve to lock the chain at each step. Fig. 13 is a side view of the latter. The containers A, see Fig. 8, are preferably 95 Fig. 14 shows the strips for closing the of stiff paper of a somewhat frusto-conical container. shape with the upper end open and of eir- Fig. 15 Shows the Spring clip 0n the block, cular form. It is desired to close the con- Figs. 16 and 17 show the closing slides or talner b v simply collapsing the upper end, 5 jaws with the yielding jaws. usually done by jaws from opposite sides that will bring the sides together, as indicated in Fig. 10. This is done and thereupon suitable sealing means is applied to secure the opposite sides brought together. This 1s preferably done by a strip of channel arrangement, as indicated in Fig. 14. These strips are nested together as shown in this v1e w by being superposed, and placed 1n a suitable hopper 46, see Fig. .9. This hopper, and also the closing and applym means are mounted on a suitable carrier 4 see Fig. 6, having bosses 48 by which it is secured to four posts 49. The latter slide vertically 1n guides 50 at the base, and guides 51 on the table 2. A cross shaft 52 is suitably mounted.,

below the table, with a rock arm 53 on one end that is rocked from a bar 54 operated by a groove cam 55 on the main shaft 12, and the latter is so designed that the carrier 47 is held in the upper position for a certaln interval then lowered and held in thelojver During the later the chainadvances one unit, then the holder is brought down, then operated and then retracted for the next container to be advanced.

On the holder 47 are slides 56 and 57 having jaw ends 58 and 59. These each carry a pivoted jaw 60, 61, that are pressed toward each other by springs and 71, see Fig. 16. Cams 62 and 63 on the shaft 12 operate levers 64 and 65, with forked ends that engage pins 66 and 67 on the slides 56 and 57. A spring 68 connects these levers tending to separate the jaws.v

It will be seen from Figs. 8 and 10 that when the container A is brought beneath the jaw members, and the latter lowered by the described mechanism the jaws 58 and 59 are moved inwardly from the positions indicated in broken lines in Fig. 8.- The extending jaws 60, 61,- will engage ,the container on opposite sides and collapse it as indicated 1n this view. These cams are so designed that at this stage, the jaws will rest in this position, and the hinge jaws will press the lips together below the top edge of the meeting ends. At this time a slide 104 connected with the hopper 46, is operated by cam arm 102, engaging a cam 101 on shaft 12, see Fig. 4. This will serve to advance the lowermost angle strip, B, across the top of the collapsed container, see Fig. 9, and it will feed above the swinging jaws 60 and 61, see Fig. 8. At this stage the jaws 58 and 59 are further advanced and the swinging jaws 60 and 61, engaging opposite sides of the collapsed containers swingsince they cannot advance, and must swing'outwardly on their pivots, and

bring the side faces of the jaws opposite their and the conveyer will advance the sealed container, which is'done step by step until it reaches the station at the securing jaws. Here a pair of jaws 83 and 84 slide in a carrier 80 that moves vertically on posts 81, through a crank arm 82 on the cross shaft 52. This carrier is lowered at the same time the described carrier is lowered, and the jaws 83 and 84 are brought together to engage the strip on the container, by lugs 89 and 90 that gill srve to suitably indent the strip, see

As the containers advance they are suitably ejected onto a transverse belt 91, carried by pulley 92 on a shaft 93, which latter is driven from cross shaft 34 by gears 94, 95.' A slide 96 serves Vto move the container from the conveyer holders onto the belt 91, which slide is operated by a cam 97 and bar 98, that engages a rock lever 99, connected with slide 96 by a'link 100.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine forsealing containers, the combination with a table and a conveyer intermittently advanced to successively present .the containers ata station, of a carrier arranged above the containers at the station and which is movable to be -brought down for engagement With a container on the conveyer, means on the carrier for collapsing and sealing the container, a hopper on the carrier for a superposed pile of angle strips, means on the carrier for feeding one of said strips ontothe collapsed container, said means on the carrier thereupon closing said angular strip on the container, said means being opera.- tively connected with the advancing means for the conveyor, whereby the carrier will be brought down on to a container during the rest period of the conveyer, the collapsing and sealingmeans then actuated, the closure strip then applied, the strip sealing means then actuated, and the carrier with said mechanism thereupon retracted to permit further advance of the conveyer to position another container for cooperation with the said carrier mechanisms.

2. In a machine for sealing containers, the combination with a table and a conveyer intermittently advanced to successively present the containers at a station, of a carrier arranged above the containers at the station and which is movable to be brought down for engagement with a container on the conveyer, jaw means on the carrier for collapsing the container, a hopper on the carrier for feeding one of said strips onto the collapsed containers, jaw means on the carrier for thereupon closing said angular strip on the container, said means being operatively connected with the advancing means for the conveyer, whereby the carrier will be brou ht down on to a container during the rest period of the conveyer, the collapsing jaws then actuated, the closure strip then applied, the

strip sealing jaws then actuated, and the carrier with said mechanism thereupon retracted to permit further advance of the conveyer to position another container for cooperation with the said carrier mechanisms.

3. In a machine for sealing containers, the combination with a table and a conveyer intermittently advanced to successively present the containers at a station of a carrier arranged above the containers at the station and which is movable to be brought down for engagement with a container on the conveyer, means on the carrier for collapsing and sealing the container, a hopper on the carrier for a superposed pile of angle strips, a feed slide on the hopper to feed a strip onto the collapsed edge of the container, means for actuating said eed means, said means on said carrier being thereupon actuated to secure the said strip, all said means being operatively connected with the advancing means for the conveyer whereby the carrier will be brought down on to a container during the rest period of: the conveyer, the collapsing means then actuated, the closure strip then applied, the strip thereupon sealed by said means,-and the carrier with said mechanism thereupon retracted to permit further advance of the conveyer to position another container for cooperation with the said carrier mechanisms.

4. In a machine for sealing containers, the combination with means for presenting a container at a certain station, of closure means at said station comprising a pair of sides, a jaw pivoted on each slide, a spring for causmg each jaw to project inwardly to engage and collapsea container by the free ends at a place below the top of the container lips when collapsed, said slides as further advanced causing the jaws after engagement with the container to swing and engage a sealin strip by the inner faces of the jaws beyon the said end portion and thereby close the strip on the container lips.

5. In a machine for sealing containers, the combination with means for presenting a container at a certain station, of closure means at said station comprising a pair of slides, a jaw pivoted on each slide, springs for causing the jaws to project inwardly to engage and collapse a container by its free end at a place below the top of the container lips when collapsed, means for thereupon feeding an angular strip onto the closed lips between said jaws, said slides as further advanced causing the jaws after engagement with the container to swing and engage a sealing strip by the inner faces of the jaws beyond the engaged end portion and thereby close the strip on the container lips.

6. In a machine for sealing containers, the combination with means for presenting a container at a certain station, of jaw means at said station comprising a pair of slides,

a jaw movably mounted on each slide, to project inwardly to engage and collapse a container at a place below the top of the container lips when collapsed, said slides as further advanced causing the jaws after engagement with the container to engage a sealing strip beyond the said engaged portion and thereby EDWARD C. ANGELL. 

